? about my homemade tomato preserves

[bornthrifty]

(Hi, I am newish, posted once a while back)


I made several jars of tomato preserves a while back (new to canning)

some of my jars didn't seal well,

I gave the good jars away, and put the unsealed ones in the fridge,

well, I just found a jar in the back of the fridge...

is it still good to eat? I don't know enough about acidity and stuff, so I appreciate your help... I 'll throw it away if I have to, but I would much rather eat it!


this was a no pectin recipie (lots of sugar, and lemon juice was added as well) if that helps

thanks for your help

 

[Ldychef2k]

Smell them. If they smell good, and if there is no mold, give it a shot. Botulism generally doesn't grow in fruits anyway. Especially in the presence of lemon juice.

 

[TanksHill]

I keep all kinds of jam in the fridge forever. if it's not moldy I would say your good to go.

that reminds me I have tomato jam to make as well.

gina

 

[bornthrifty]

thanks for the replies,

I do think the jelly is ok to eat, and appreciate your reassurance on this...

but I want to understand, is it the sugar content and the lemon juice that help keep our friend botulism away?


I mean if this were tomato sauce in the fridge for 2 months it would be at risk

right?

but since it is a preserve/jelly it is safer if I understand correctly

 

[Ldychef2k]

I think it is the acid content plus not using over ripe fruit that has lost its acid. Not completely sure, just saw an article about it a few weeks ago.

 

[patandchickens]

but I want to understand, is it the sugar content and the lemon juice that help keep our friend botulism away? I mean if this were tomato sauce in the fridge for 2 months it would be at risk
right? but since it is a preserve/jelly it is safer if I understand correctly

Well, if tomato sauce (with sufficiently high pH, i.e not made with low-acid tomatoes nor too much other stuff 'watering it down') sits in the fridge 2 months it is likely to go bad, but probably not from botulism -- from *other* spoilage microorganisms though.

Botulism (in particular) does not survive pH of lower than, I forget, 5 or something like that (don't quote me on exact number here). That is why *acid* things, like tomatoes and pickles and nearly all fruits, can be safely waterbath canned; you do not need to worry about getting them to temps hi enough to kill Clostridium (the organism causing botulism) b/c the pH of the food is already too low for that bacterium to survive.

Yes, preserves -- anything with tons o' sugar in it -- will last longer in your fridge or on the shelf than the same product minus the sugar (e.g. tomato jam vs tomato juice). That is the sugar at work, there. Sugar in large amounts is a pretty reasonable antibiotic, has traditionally been used in poultices for skin wounds and both medical and veterinary science have shown it really DOES work in particular situations. (I've used 'sugardine' paste on horse foot wounds a number of times, just granulated sugar with enough tamed iodine added to make sort of a wet-sand effect, as per vet instructions).

I do not know to what extent Clostridium (specifically) is affected by sugar; but since you need a reasonably acid pH to get any sort of pectin to gell properly to make a preserve/jelly/whatever, THAT takes care of things anyhow

Good luck, have fun, mmmmm tomato preserves ,

Pat